The 22 Moroccan passengers who on Friday night escaped along the Son Sant Joan runways ran into the fences that protect the airport’s perimeter. The fake patient and a companion were transferred to Son Llàtzer before the hoax was uncovered.
When the escapees reached one of these fences, they used all their strength to try to knock it down. Although they did not succeed completely, the pressure from the group made it impossible for the barrier to hold up and it buckled. From here, the fugitives had a clear path out of the airport grounds and escaped across the island.
The head of Palma’s Court of Instruction number 6, who was on duty yesterday, ordered the imprisonment of the dozen migrants arrested for the escape from Palma airport. The judge considered the facts constituted two crimes of sedition, favouring illegal immigration and coercion.
The judge accepted the prosecutor’s request in its entirety, calling for the imprisonment of the dozen detainees. Meanwhile, the defence lawyers of those arrested demanded the swift return of their clients to Morocco, their country of origin.
The report on the Moroccan migrants
The report presented yesterday to the court by investigators from the Policía Nacional’s Unit Against Immigration Networks and Counterfeiting (UCRIF) was overwhelming. Over and above the administrative infraction of violating immigration law, the police investigation considered that the escape across the runways of Son Sant Joan after having ignored and assaulted the commander of the aircraft constituted a series of crimes.
Specifically, the 24 fugitives, half of whom have been arrested, would have violated Law 209/1964, of 24 December, Criminal and Procedural Law on Air Navigation. Article 20 of this law regulates, among the offences against air traffic, those which would constitute an alleged crime of sedition
The fugitives disobeyed and struggled with the commander before racing away from the aircraft
Not complying with orders issued by the aircraft commander or airport chief in the course of their duties” is a sedition offence. Before leaving the Air Arabia Maroc Airbus A320, the 22 fleeing migrants disregarded orders from the aircraft commander before making their escape by running across the runways of Palma airport.
It is also considered sedition, in article 21 of the offences against air traffic, “if the act is committed with the intention of interrupting navigation or changing the route”. The actions of these 24 migrants were fully in breach of this article.
Change of route
The Air Arabia Maroc Airbus A320 was flying between Casablanca and Istanbul. A young Moroccan man claimed to have gone into a diabetic coma when the aircraft was flying over the area near Mallorca. This individual had already been arrested in Marbella in 2020 for causing damage, attack and resistance. His fake illness forced the plane to change its route and make an emergency landing at Son Sant Joan. For this reason, this individual has been charged with the alleged offence of encouraging illegal immigration.
Four hours closed
After landing and taking the fake patient off the aircraft, the plane was disembarked. Air traffic was shut down for four hours, between 7pm and 11pm on Friday. Fortunately, the unprecedented incident occurred in the middle of the low season, when the flow of traffic is much lower. Nevertheless, European flights were cancelled. The search for the escapees resulted in 12 arrests and 12 others unaccounted for.
A bent fence that was almost torn down by the fugitives was the place where they fled.
The 22 Moroccan passengers who escaped from the airport runway on Friday night ran into the fences that protect the airport’s perimeter. The fake patient and a companion were transferred to Son Llàtzer before the hoax was uncovered.
When the escapees reached one of these fences, they used all their strength to try to knock it down. Although they did not succeed completely, the pressure from the group meant that the barrier could not resist and it buckled. From here, the fugitives had a clear path out of the airport grounds and escaped across the island.